Continuous mixing machine



Dec. 31, 1929. H. K. WILDER CONTINUOUS MIXING MACHINE Filed Oct. 30. 1926 Jm/crt'tmf' [fa/ 08d [1. Wilder (1%,

1c h w Clilorne s.-

Patented Dec. 31, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HAROLD COMPANY,

xmmn'rn WILDEB, OF BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOB TO KELLOGG OI BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF DEAWABE CONTINUOUS MIXING MACHINE Application filed October 30, 1928. Serial Io. 145,131.

My invention relates to continuous mixing machines and has for its object the provision of a machine of this type which is capable of intimately mixing a liquid with a pulverulent solid.

A further ob'ect is to provide a machine of this type in w ich the relative proportions of the constituents may be easily and accurately regulated.

Other objects will appear from the following description, reference being had to the accompanyin drawings, in which Figure 1 is a si e elevation of my improved continuous mixing machine;

Figure 2 is a broken, central, vertical sectional View thereof; and

Figure 3 is a central, vertical, sectional view of a modified form of spraying member.

Although the machine of my invention may be used for mixing two immiscible liquids in the proper proportions, especially as a pre-mixer to feed a colloid mill or other type of emulsified liquids, where it is desirable to have the two constituents presented in proper proportions immediately prior to a vigorous emulsifying process, yet my invention is primarily concerned with providing a machine for mixing granulated or pulverulent solids with a liquid.

By the methods of mixing liquids and powders at present used, it is usually necessary to repulverize the resulting mixture because of the tendency of the liquid to agglomerate the particles of the solid. By the use of my invention, however, the liquid is applied to a stream of the pulverulent solid in a mist or very fine spray, and each particle receives only a very thin coating of the liquid which will not be sufliciently thick to cause its adherence to adjacent particles.

The mixing machine of my invention may be mounted on a suitable bearing bracket 4 which has a depending extension bracket 6 formed integrally therewith. The bracket 4 may be secured to any suitable standard or vertical support by bolts passing through its flange 8. The end of the bracket 4 forms a bearing 10 for a tubular shaft 12 which, at its upper end, carries a large pulley 14. A collar 16 is freely mounted between the pulley 14 and the bearing 10. A similar collar 15 may be secured to the shaft 12 to prevent upward axial movement of the shaft. The lower end of the shaft 12 carries a distributing member 18 which, at its upper end, is conical in shape and may be fluted radially over a portion of its upper face to secure the desired degree of traction on the pulverulent material. A hollow shaft 20 is rotatable within the tubular shaft 12, being supported therein by ball bearings 22 carried in the pulley 14 and similar ball bearings 24 carried in the distributing member 18. The hollow shaft 20 forms a conduit for the liquid to its lower end which carries a spraying member 26. A plurality of suitable apertures 28, formed in the lower end of the hollow shaft 20, permit the flow of liquid from within the hollow shaft 20 to the flared upper surface of the nozzle or spraying member 26. The spraying member 26 is preferably screwthreaded to the lower end of the pipe 20, thus making it possible to regulate the rate of flow by screwing up the s raying member 26 to partially cover up the apertures 28. The lower end of the shaft 20 is closed by a re movable plug 30. The collar 32 is secured to the shaft 20 a short distance above the spraying collar 26 to prevent the pulverulent solid from falling directly upon the spraying member. The shaft 20 is rotated by a pulley 34 which may be secured thereto by any suitable means, such as a set screw.

A valve 36, which may be a needle valve or other suitable device for regulating the flow of the liquid into the shaft 20, is connected to a pipe having a portion 38 of reduced diameter which fits within the upper end of the shaft 20. Suitable means for packing this connection may be provided, it being necessary merely to provide a sealing connection which will permit relative rotation between the pipe 38 and the shaft 20, and will permit the liquid to be forced into the ipe 20 under pressure if desired.

The end 39 of the depending bracket 6 carries a retaining tube 40 and is bored to receive a sleeve 42 which is freely rotatable therein. A funnel-shaped hopper 44:, which may be mounted upon the bracket 6 by any suitable means, such as the clipsfifi, has its lower end fitting within the sleeve 42. As is best shown in Figure 2, the sleeve 42 has a handle 48 secured to it at its u per end. This handle extends upwardly an is adapted to rest in any one of a lurality of circumferentially spaced, vertically stepped notches formed in a plate 50 which is secured along the outer surface of the end portion 39 of the bracket 6. It will be apparent that by swinging the handle 48, the sleeve 42 may be vertically adjusted, thus regulating the degree of opening between the lower end of the sleeve and the upper surface of the dis tributing member 18.

In the modified construction shown in Figure 3, the spraying member 26 has a frustroconical ledge 27 which is adapted to deflect and throw outwardly an particles which may not have been caught in the liquid spray from the upper surface of the member 26 and thus cause them uniformly to mix with the falling mass of moistened powder. The member 26' may be vertically adjusted pan tially to cover the apertures 28 and be locked in adjusted position by the plug 30 which threads into the lower end of the hollow shaft 20.

The pulverulent solid may be fed to the hopper 44 by any suitable means, such as the chute 52, and the mixed product may be collected in asuitable receptacle such, for example, as that shown at 54. The shafts 12 and 20 may be driven from any suitable source of power through belts 56 and 58, respectively.

\Vhile the speed at which the shafts are to be rotated is dependent, to a great extent, upon the character of the materials being mixed, yet for ordinary use in mixin a pulvcrulent solid with a fairly viscous fiqmd I have found it desirable to rotate the sprayer (the shaft 20) at a speed ranging between 2,000 and 10,000 R. P. M. The s eed of rotation of the shaft 12 with its distri uting member 18 may vary between 50 and 600 R. P. M., depending upon the character of the pulverulent solid and the proportions of theconstituents desired in the final mixture. The solid particles will feed by gravity from the hopper 44 through the sleeve 42 and be thrown y the distributing member 18 against the retaining tube 40, from which they will drop in an annular stream past the mist emanating from the s raying member 26. The distributing mem er 18 will agitate the ulverulent solid sufiicientl so that it will fall from the retaining tu e 40 in a fine stream of uniform thickness and at a constant speed.

Due to the extremely high speed at which the hollow shaft 20 is rotated, the li uid will be thrown from the member 26 in sue a fine- 'ly divided state that the descending solid parwhen the articles are collected in the receptacle 54 t e will remain separate and not tend to egg omerate into lumps.

I have described the preferred methods of operation and the preferred embodiments of my invention. However, I contemplate such variations as changing the speeds of the rotation of the shafts, holding one or both of them stationary, and contemplate the concomitant changes in the machine so as to adapt it for use under various conditions of operation and for mixing various substances. While I have described the machine of my invention as being particularly adapted for mixing a pulverulent solid with a h uid, it may be used for mixing two immisci 1e liquids with equal advantages. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the single embodiment disclosed but desire the scope of my invention to be limited only by the claims which follow.

I claim:

1. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a high speed rotating spraying nozzle, a source of liquid supply, a sealed conduit connecting said source to said nozzle, flow regulating means in said conduit, a retaining tube positioned above said nozzle, rotatable means at one end of said tube for distributing said substance in a tubular stream around said nozzle, and means including a longitudinally adjustable sleeve for regulating the flow of said substance.

2. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a rotating spraying nozzle, a source of liquid, a conduit connecting said source with said nozzle, means for regulating the flow in said conduit, rotatable means for distributing a second substance in a continuous, thin, hollow stream surrounding said nozzle, and means for controlling the amount of said second substance supplied to said distributing means.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a rotating spraying nozzle, a source of liquid, a conduit connecting said source with said nozzle, means for regulating the flow in said conduit, rotatable means for distributing a second substance in a continuous, thin, hollow stream surrounding said nozzle, and means for controlling the supply of said second substance comprising a sleeve forming a passage for said substance and having a lever secured thereto, and a fixed plate having vertically stepped notches adapted to receive said lever and maintain said sleeve in adjusted position.

4. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a pair of relatively rotatable concentric hollow shafts, a source of liquid, means for controlling the amount of liquid adapted to be supplied through one of said shafts, means'operable by the other of said shafts for distributing a finely divided solid in a continuous stream, and means carried by said first named shaft for spraying the liquid against said stream of the solid.

5. In a machine for mixing comminuted substances with liquids, the combination of means for supplying a substance in a thin stream of annular cross section, means for controlling the rate of supply of said substance, rotatable means positioned within said stream for ejecting a liquid in a finely divided state against a stream of the substance, from said first named means, and means for controlling the rate of flow of said liquid in said rotatable means.

6. In a continuous mixer, the combination of a pair of rotatable, concentric, tubular shafts, means for regulating the flow of a liquid to the inner of said shafts, a retaining tube, means for conveying material to said tube, means secured to the outer of said shafts for distributing said material along the periphery of said retaining tube, and a spraying member carried by said inner shaft.

7. In a machine of the class described, the combination of rotatable means for supplying a fluent substance in a stream annular in cross section, an apertured nozzle, means to rotate said nozzle at high speed to spray liquid in a fine mist against said stream, means for adjusting the size of the apertures in said nozzle, and means for locking said lastnamed means.

8. In a machine of the class described, the combination of rotatable means for supplying a pulverulent solid in a thin tubular stream, an apertured nozzle positioned within said stream and adapted to rotate at high speed so as to throw a liquid in mist form to mix with said stream, and means for changing the size of the apertures in said nozzle.

9. In a machine for mixing comminuted substances with liquids, rotating means for distributing a fluent substance through an annular opening in a thin stream annular in cross-section, a tubular shaft rotatable at a high speed Within said means, and a spraying nozzle carried by said tubular shaft for atomizing liquid adapted to be supplied,

11. In a machine adapted for the continuous mixing of a fluid substance and a pulverized solid substance, the combination of a plurality of independently rotatable concentric hollow shafts, means for supplying the fluid substance in a continuous stream to the inside of one of said shafts, means for regulating the flow of said fluid, means for supplying a pulverized solid substance to a rotatable distributing member carried by one of said shafts, and means for regulating the amount of pulverized solid substance fed to said rotatable distributing member.

12. In a continuous mixing machine, the combination of a hollow rotatable shaft terminating in a spraying nozzle, means for supplying a substance to the interior of said hollow shaft, means for regulating the flow of said substance, a rotatable agitating and distributing member, a tubular casing surrounding said shaft and said member, means for supplying a second substance to said tubular casing, said casing and said member cooperating'to deflect said substance in a fine stream annular in cross section, and means for regulating the amount of said second substance fed to said distributing member.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 26th day of October, 1926.

HAROLD KENNETH WILDER. 

